Cheese mold



E. F. KASTEN Aug. 29, 1933.

CHEESE MOLD Filed Jan. 20, 1932 A? EEE .Kassn Patented ug. 29, 1933 ".r

CHEESE MOLD Y i c c y Ewald F. Kasten, Watertown, Wis.. Y A l .yApplication January 2o,193z. serial 10.587373 Y Y z'claims. (ci. 31-45)vv' This invention relates 'to process and apparatus for cheesemanufacture and has for an object to provide a novel mold which permitsproper drainage of the whey and air from the rind while at the `sametime imparting to the rind a substantially continuous surface devoid` ofthe usual unsightly holes.

A further object is to provide a cheese mold having diagonal creases orchannels extending in both directions and intersecting so that the curdwill have sufficient drainage topermit escape of all of the air and theVwhey that accumulates at the surface of the cheese. l

A further object is to provide a cheese mold having intersectingdiagonalcreases on the inner surface, and a follower which is telescopi- Vcallycarried by the mold and which may be weighted to press the cheese`downward in the mold so that the surface will constantly be wipedacross uncloggedvor clean creases inthe mold to accelerate drainageofthe -air vand whey and compact the surface of the cheese so that amore perfect rind will be produced to lend attractiveness to theproduct. l

With the above and other objects in` view the invention consists incertain novel details of ccnstruction and combinations of partshereinafter fully described and claimed it being understood that variousmodifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claimswithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof the invention.

In the accompanying drawing formingvpart of this specification, l Figure1 is a perspective view of the follower removed and showing the cheeseoccupying the lower half of the mold, y

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the mold inverted and the followerbeing shown in elevation in position to press the cheese downwardly.

Referring now to the drawing in which like A characters of referencedesignate similar parts in the various views, 10 designatesa mold whichis preferably rectangular in outline and is 'open at the top and thebottom, the mold being'adapted to be supported upon a burlap pad 9orother suitable absorbent support to form a closure for the bottom ofthe mold. The side walls `1l and end walls 12 of the mold may besuitably joined together at the corners by any preferred method ofjointing and preferably are formed of wood although any other desiredmaterial may be employed.

The inner faces of the sides andends of the the :hold with mold areprovided with diagonal creases or channels 13 which yextend in'bothdirections and intersect as best shown in Figure 1. Thesechannels arepreferably formed rectangular in cross sections, although they may be ofany desired cross section, it being simply necessary, to the practice ofthe method of `cheese manufacture constituting this invention, toprovidethe` walls of the mold with intersectingdiagonal channels. f Afollower 14, see Figure 2, is provided, and may be of the same ordifferent material than the mold and is of sufficient dimensions tonicely telescopically enter into the mold. The follower preferably is ofaboutone-half the -height of the mold and may be'weighted in anymannerto enter the 70 `mold, such as for instance, by manually forcingthe sameinto the moldto press the cheesej15 ahead of it, or by pressing aweightjof Vany desired type `on the'follower lwhen the moldis invertedto dispose the cheese at the top for the reversing step.

In carrying out `the process; the mold is filled Y abouthalf way to thetop with the cheese, as shown in v'Figure 1. The intersecting diagonalchannels permit 'drainageof the air and whey from the curd. Next themold is inverted to dispose the cheese at the top, as shown in Figure'2. Thereupon theffollower 14 is placed on the cheese and may be presseddownward quickly or weighted to move downward slowly, in either case thecheese being advanced ahead of it to occupy a new channeled surface atthe bottom of the mold so that the drainage of whey and escape of airmay again be promoted. l,

It will be pointed out that during the reversal step just described theimprint of the' diagonalV90 channels first left on the surfaceA or rindof the cheese .is erased by the succeeding portions of the v channelswhen the cheese is moved into register therewith, and this erasingoperation is repeated f againy and again in accordance with the numberof times the mold is reversed or the reversal' operal tion performed, sothat finally the cheese emerges l with a substantially smooth grinddevoid ofholes, while atthe same time the air and whey have beeneffectivelydrained and permitted to escape Vso that 100 y a more compactperfect'rind and surface is'produced than hitherto possible by theordinary methods of cheese molding.

Having thus described the invention ,it is f thought that theconstruction and operation '105 thereof will be fully understood withoutfurtherV l f explanation.

What is claimed is: c l l 1. Apparatus for the manufacture of cheese,comprising a mold of substantially greater height ing vdiagonal drainagechannels throughout the than the height of the product to be producedand provided on the mold faces with diagonal channels extending in twodirections and intersecting, an absorbent pad forming a closure for theopen bottom of the mold, and a follower of'substantially'l likedimensions to the mold for telescopically entering the moldto press theproduct in advance of it longitudinally of the mold.

2.' A reversible mold for cheese-making having an open top and openbottom and being of greater Y height than the product to be produced andhaventire inner faces of the mold, said channels inter! secting, and afollower of substantially the same" dimensions as the mold adapted totelescopically enter the mold at two reversed positions thereof and-foroe the product to occupy a different portion of the `inner channeledfaces of theA mold than

